Roadmap

Please note: this page is old, not updated, and should be more thought of as a general outline of the direction we want to take the game in.

An annotated and updated (but incomplete) fork of the roadmap may be found at Sturnclaw's List.

First milestone

Basically we want external interfaces to be stable.

• New save file format (Done?)
• Separate Player from Ship (breaks Lua)
• Turn Missiles into guided Projectiles
• Module manifest
• Convert to dear-imgui (In progress)
• Starsystem generation rewrite (plus custom systems)
• 3D cockpits (only visual, not functional) (In progress)

Second milestone

• Gameplay stuff, redesigned UI. Dunno yet.
• Functional 3D cockpits

 

Older stuff

Pioneer has changed versioning system and will no longer release a 1.0 version. Development will continue continuously with new features and fixes added, making every new version slightly better than the one before. Below is a compiled list of features.

Warning: This list is incomplete - and under active discussion so subject to change

 

UI features

• Star views and navigation
  • Combine system (orbit) view into star map
  • Bookmarks, travel log
  • Maybe other streamlining as well? such as?
  • is galaxy view useful at all?

• Missions and station interface
  • Redesign the bulletin board to allow filtering and searching (e.g., adverts have tags, as shown in this old mock-up).
  • Better access to missions or BB. maybe alerts?
  • Centralise bulletin board within the station interface (ie, everything else hangs off the bulletin board; the BB is basically the station-wide-web)
    • Replace the "standard" commodity market with multiple traders/shops advertising on the BB
    • Replace the "standard" ship equipment and servicing screens with mechanics advertising on the BB
    • Replace the "standard" ship purchase screen with specialist shops advertising on the BB, plus also individual pilots posting ship-for-sale and ship-wanted adverts

• Rewrite? the HUD
• Add chase camera, padlock

Technical features

• Commodity Prices (see link for more) / Economy will be more advanced (Dynamic?)
• Weapons
  • goals: allow more than just laser bolts (beams, missiles), auto-tracking guns and turrets
  • rewrite, basically
  • conflicts with lua trade goods/equipment?

• Factions
  • Remove random generation of factions
  • Factions into translation system
  • Custom systems into translation system
• Separate Player from Ships
  • to enable shuttlecraft and remote drones
• Hitpoints: use generic HP value instead of mass. system specific damage?
• Cargo: use kg instead of tons
• AI
  • needs more higher level stuff like basic self preservation, modules must not have to implement their own (like tradeships...)
  • formations, anyone?
  • AI vs AI?

Gameplay features

• Thoughts on ship equipent, power, slots: Ship struct
• Military progression / treason.
• Something like the Scout missions the walterar has done, exploration jobs.
• No hypersace from in atmosphere / or too close to a planet surface.
• In-system hyperspace jumps to make assassination missions and piracy actually possible.
• Alternatively a Fast-As-Light drive, Shadmar has taken a hacked one I (fluffyfreak) wrote and updated it for Paragon.
• A reason to actually have Crew on the ship.
  • better hyperjump planning, for multiple jumps,
  • Better autopilot (i.e. make actual auto equipment perform worse)
• Cargo has volume, and this is what limits a cargo hold. forum
• Allow player to buy some types of ship equipment as cargo and have it fitted elsewhere
• Ship visual customization
• Space stations
  • external docking
  • traffic rules (don't allow modules to let ships idle forever)
• Ship to ship docking / comunication
• Networking / "Fake multiplayer" Network features